Blow-Up
2013-04-16 - by
It’s hard to talk about politics when Americans are being blown apart at a great event in one of our great cities. A celebration of human aspiration and achievement becomes a terrorist’s target. A race that celebrates leg power and stamina becomes an abattoir of lost limbs and broken bodies.
But politics inevitably intrudes. We immediately and logically suspect Islamic terrorists. The lunatic right erupts over a rumor (untrue) that CNN’s Wolf Blitzer blamed the Tea Party. (Boston: Boston Tea Party: Income Tax Day: Patriots Day. Get it?) Someone on the left will predictably pontificate: “What does this say” about America? “What kind of country are we becoming?”
It says nothing of the kind about America. We always have among us sick fucks (pardon the language). Terrorists, assassins, murderers, fanatics, anarchists.
But the cowards who plant bombs and run away were far outnumbered by the emergency workers and ordinary people who ran to the blast and tried to save the wounded. Our better angels, as Lincoln called them, always overcome evil.
Our real test will come later: how we respond.
After 9/11, we made our country more safe, but maybe less free. We set about hunting down the killers, and we eventually got them. Unfortunately, we launched two ill-advised wars that cost us much money and too many lives and broken bodies.
This time let’s stay focused on the real evil-doers. And never let them blow up our fundamental goodness.
Posted in General
Blow-Up
2013-04-16/
It’s hard to talk about politics when Americans are being blown apart at a great event in one of our great cities. A celebration of human aspiration and achievement becomes a terrorist’s target. A race that celebrates leg power and stamina becomes an abattoir of lost limbs and broken bodies.
But politics inevitably intrudes. We immediately and logically suspect Islamic terrorists. The lunatic right erupts over a rumor (untrue) that CNN’s Wolf Blitzer blamed the Tea Party. (Boston: Boston Tea Party: Income Tax Day: Patriots Day. Get it?) Someone on the left will predictably pontificate: “What does this say” about America? “What kind of country are we becoming?”
It says nothing of the kind about America. We always have among us sick fucks (pardon the language). Terrorists, assassins, murderers, fanatics, anarchists.
But the cowards who plant bombs and run away were far outnumbered by the emergency workers and ordinary people who ran to the blast and tried to save the wounded. Our better angels, as Lincoln called them, always overcome evil.
Our real test will come later: how we respond.
After 9/11, we made our country more safe, but maybe less free. We set about hunting down the killers, and we eventually got them. Unfortunately, we launched two ill-advised wars that cost us much money and too many lives and broken bodies.
This time let’s stay focused on the real evil-doers. And never let them blow up our fundamental goodness.
Posted in General